Preferred Horse/ Pony Height

Flipo's Mum

Flipo's Mum

Heavy owner of a Heavy
Aug 17, 2009
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Perthshire, Scotland
So what's your preference for horse or pony height, and how does that compare to your own height? Is there a lower or upper height that you just wouldn't entertain? Will you ride any size? Does any height intimidate or worry you? Do you find it easier riding bigger/ smaller?
 
My perfect height (for riding & Handling) is 13-14h

I am 5 foot....5'1 on a good day :happy: and very petite (Easily pushed over lol!)

Brandy who is 15'3 is the biggest I will handle, even with him I don't feel particularly comfortable/safe, any bigger and I find myself being very nervous (on ground or ridden!) :redface:
 
I dont mind any size being only 4ft 11 and owning a 16.1 and a 17.1 but I do think smaller is easier for me.

I find I have more leg with the smaller ones and Annie's size is great for me (15.1hh) but if the horse is big and wide then its more of an issue as I cant "wrap my legs around" as told :giggle:

I am not scared of riding bigger horses and prefer to be on them when kick off than be beside them on the ground leading them and I do not like it when they rear inhand and tower over little me :frown:

As for ponies I wouldnt ride or own one now but would happily get on any size big or small for the craic as long as I wasnt too big :smile:
 
It's not so much height as feel for me. Raf is about 15 hh and feels perfect (but then of course he's what I'm used to). Jack is about 16.2 and although he doesn't feel too high, he feels too big, as in his head is miles away, he takes big strides and all his movements feel big and slow. I find him much more tiring to ride than Raf.

I always preferred ponies to horses as a child and even when I returned to riding as an adult my favourite RS horse was a 14 hh Haffy - she was quite wide so took up my leg well, probably better than Raf does in his almost two dimensional state.

I'm 5'7" and when I ride Jack am told I 'look good' on him, which I take to mean that I look more suited to a 16.2, and slightly ridiculous on a narrow 15 hh! I don't care though, comfort over fashion in my book!
 
Good question!
15hh is perfect for me. I would stretch to 15.2 but bigger than that and I do feel a little over horsed. I used to exercise Joe for OH when he was busy working all the time, and I managed it okay but 16.2 is a little large for me and I used to feel very high up! I am 5ft nowt (maybe one inch over if I stand up straight, think I have shrunklol).
Storm feels right for me, we are like peas and carrots - made for each other!
Went hacking on a giant shire once - she was 16hh and hugely built, was fab and felt so safe and comfy. But, she wasn't the fastest so that's probably why she felt safe compared to 16.2 hh of tb!!!
 
Just wanted to add; not fussed how big they are for ground handling, because even at 15hh Storm can be a handful when having a "Benny" moment. Lets face it, the smallest of ponies could out-do us if they wanted to! They are all pretty strong when pushed!
 
Bodshi said:
It's not so much height as feel for me. Raf is about 15 hh and feels perfect (but then of course he's what I'm used to). Jack is about 16.2 and although he doesn't feel too high, he feels too big, as in his head is miles away, he takes big strides and all his movements feel big and slow. I find him much more tiring to ride than Raf.
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Good point - is in how it feels :wink:

I feel like I fit my mare cos I am used to her after I ride another horse like her she feels like my fave chair when get back on even though people often say I look tiny on her and have no legs etc etc :poop:
 
I'm the same as Bodshi on this, it's about how I feel on the individual horse or pony, and that doesn't necessarily have much to do with their height. At 8 stone I'm light enough to ride most things, 5'6'' so not particularly tall and can get away with riding ponies, but I also have rather long thighs which means I'm not necessarily out of place on big horses. I don't really have a preference on height, I'm happy riding horses of all shapes and sizes, including Shetland types, I suppose on paper my "ideal" height would be 15-16.2 or so but I will always love riding ponies the most!
 
Handling I don't care, mine shares a field with 11.1hh (boyfriend) up to and including a 17.2hh.

My preference for owning is 14hh plus to about 15.3hh, having had a 15.3hh, a 14hh and now a 14.1hh, i lean towards the 14.2hh.
I won't entertain 16hh and above purely they cost more in feed, rugs etc. I simply don't need that size as I am lightweight. You should have seen me trying to tack up at trec with a 16.2hh! It was laughable!

At the end of the day I prefer manners and then the height is irrelevant.
 
At 5'5 and 9 stone I can ride pretty much anything and have done over the years the boys a registered at 16.2 which I like perfect for me I think.

I have rode a lot of 17 plus in the last 6 months and loved them all. I love the big ground covering pace and power and I like that secure feel I get when on them.

I like the finer breeds and not a fan of natives and cobby types (sorry) so would never own one but again I have ridden a fair few and loved it. But I would never own anything under 16 it is just what I like. :biggrin: I have owned a new forest then an Arab then a TB before Chanter each got bigger.
 
Im 5"1 and love my 13.3. If I could have another id probs get a 14.2 but no bigger, but womble is a perfect size for me. I have short legs and a really short body so I look like a pea on a drum on anything bigger
 
Cyrus is 15hh and perfect size for me, I am just under 5'3" and very light. I can get away with riding bigger or smaller but feel more comfortable on horses about his size. Used to ride bigger horses sometimes when I was doing lessons in RS depending on which horse I got to ride. They were riding school types so I would never had had any challenging behaviour really with them. I think if I was on something bigger doing some of the stuff Cyrus tried on I'd have found it harder to deal with, but that is just me, I am not a very experienced rider.

Noticed a big difference in lessons at the RS when I then started mainly riding a couple horses who were about 15hh/15.1hh was just able to connect better with my legs I felt.

Totally depends too though on the horse and how you click with them and how they go for you. Like I'd ride a 16hh ish boy and get on well and then have a lesson from hell on a 14.2 because just were not right for each other :giggle:
 
I am 5'6" Cherie is 14.1 but deep in the girth so she takes my leg up well.

Evie is 15.1 and wide as a barrel.

Ideally I like something easy to get on and off but I am not overly worried if I can find a gate or a bank to clamber on board.
 
I am almost 5'3" but not really light enough to ride small ponies so anything under 14hh has been out of the question for all of my adult life. I developed a passion for Shire Horses and my old loan mare was a 16.2hh pure bred shire and Ben is a 16.1hh Shire x. Ben is very well built and I often look at pictures of me riding him and wish that my legs were 6 inches longer. I probably am too short to do him justice, but he is never going anywhere so we are stuck with each other now!

I don't ride any other horses or ponies these days. I have no desire to sit on anything other than my lovely Ben.
 
I sometimes wish i was taller to have more leg but my other half wishes he was smaller to ride annie :wink:
 
Height is not an issue for me. Ability is far more important, ability to carry me and do the job I want them to do.

Ljósfaxi would have been lucky to reach 13.1hh, but was a dream to ride. Fákur, bless every hair on his body is much, much bigger, wider and chunkier, safe as houses to ride and an utter gentleman, but not so interesting and stimulating to ride. Fákur is who you ride with a hangover or if you are not feeling well.
 
For me as an owner i like 14.2-15.2 but i like them to be wide and have a decent shoulder infront of me.
I have rode all different sizes happily from 11hh-19.2 and only ever dont feel comfortable if they are extremely narrow with not alot in front if that makes sense.my favourite bigfer horse was one of the point to pointers at 17.1 he was very leggy but had a great neck and shoulder on him and i really did love him to death and riding him.we had a 19.2 at collage who was just a huge gentle giant and even the smallest girls who werent keen on the bigger horses loved him he was just so safe.
 
I am 5 foot 2 and 10 st and a bit. I fit perfectly on Ziggy's 14.1 chunky frame but if I were to get another would look for about 14'3 or 15hh just to be able to get a longer stride. Z has a horse body and pony legs!
 
I'm 5ft2 (just) and weigh around 8.5-9 stone.

Rubic is 14.2hh. I think with my height I could ride most ponies but I probably wouldn't want to subject many of the smaller ones to my weight. I'd happily ride 13.2 upwards really. I don't look out of place on the 13.2 from the yard. I'm usually comfortable riding horses up to about 15.2hh. Anything bigger than about 15.2 needs to be quite fine in order for my leg to be usable! I have ridden 17.2hh and jumped him over 1m but he was a schoolmaster who knew his job, I wouldn't have been so confident otherwise!

It totally depends on the horse but generally most of the "horses" I do enjoy riding are 14.2!
 
My horsey aspirations have shrunk as I get into my 50's. I am short and stout. I am not very agile. I've almost always ridden ponies. As I was short, when I got better I was put on the naughty ponies rather than the horses that were needed for taller adults. My favourite all time ride (some years ago now) was a 15.1 mare. I do like to feel I can get back on board when out hacking, so now it's definitely under 15h, as long as it's chunky enough to carry me!

Ideally 13.3 - 14.2. Big shiny horses with long legs are lovely, but not for me.
 
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